Destination Maternity's board reelected despite Orchestra proxy battle
French children's-clothing retailer Orchestra-Prémaman - which made an offer to acquire Destination Maternity in October 2015, then entered into a later-terminated merger agreement in December 2016 - had sought the board's resignation. Orchestra owns 1,921,820 shares, or 13.8 percent, of Destination's stock.
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After a bitter proxy battle, all four members of Destination Maternity's current board of directors were reelected at the retailer's annual stockholders meeting Thursday at its Moorestown headquarters, according to a statement from the company.
Members of the board are non-executive chairman Barry Erdos, Michael J. Blitzer, Melissa Payner-Gregor, and B. Allen Weinstein. The company is seeking a new CEO.
French children's-clothing retailer Orchestra-Prémaman — which made an offer to acquire Destination Maternity in October 2015, then entered into a later-terminated merger agreement in December 2016 – had sought the resignation of the four directors as part of the proxy battle.
Orchestra owns 1,921,820 shares, or 13.8 percent, of Destination's stock and waged a fight to boost the stock price and unseat the board, although it did not put forth any names as replacements.
Shares in Destination closed Thursday at $2.42 on the Nasdaq, up 0.11 or 4.76 percent.
Destination Maternity bills itself as the world's largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel. As of April 29, the company says, it operated more than 1,200 locations, including 511 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico under the Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity brands, as well as 646 leased department-store locations.